Immigration continues to be an area of focus for our clients as they adjust to the changing landscape brought on by Brexit, while continuing to manage a growing list of routine immigration compliance responsibilities and issues.

We understand the pressures on employers and the need for practical immigration advice and tips, information on changes and how to manage them, and commentary on future policy development and potential issues. To assist our clients and contacts we will be sharing regular immigration news updates, editorials on topics such as Brexit and immigration policy developments, upcoming deadlines and changes to be aware of, as well as invites to immigration seminars, training sessions and roundtable events.

In this immigration news update we have a news round-up, dates for your diary and employer actions, and the latest on Brexit.

Welcome to our new Head of Immigration

We are pleased to announce that Jessica Pattinson has recently joined our team in London as our new Head of Immigration.

Jessica brings with her 17 years' immigration experience gained in London, New York and Sydney, working with corporate clients on immigration matters ranging from straightforward work permission matters under Tiers 2 and 5 to complex immigration compliance and Brexit-related projects.

Jessica will lead an established team of immigration lawyers in London, Milton Keynes, Glasgow and Edinburgh.

News round-up and employer actions

Tier 2 General Restricted quota issues

The uncertainties introduced by Brexit have created a dramatic shift in the labour market with employers finding it increasingly difficult to recruit and retain employees from the European Union (EU). This has meant that employers are relying more heavily on talent from outside the EU to fill key vacancies, causing an unprecedented increase in the number of requests for Tier 2 General, Restricted Certificates of Sponsorship (RCoS) and the quota being exhausted for three consecutive months for the first time since the regime was introduced in 2011.

Our recent blog on this topic provides some additional background and commentary.

If you are experiencing issues with the RCoS quota please do get in touch to discuss mitigation strategies.

Changes to the Immigration Rules

As covered in our recent article, there were a number of minor, yet important, changes to the Immigration Rules introduced on 11 January 2018. The most relevant to employers are:

  • relaxation of requirements for graduate hires when they apply for a Tier 2 General Unrestricted visa;
  • changes to the method for calculating the continuous residence requirement for Indefinite Leave to Remain (covered in detail in our recent blog); and
  • the continuous residence requirement for ILR being extended to dependent family members.

If you are yet to determine how these changes will affect your business and employees we would be happy to assist with an assessment and communications plan.

Tier 1 General, Indefinite Leave to Remain

The Tier 1 General visa is a legacy category which allowed for highly skilled individuals to secure the right to live and work in the UK without employer sponsorship, on the basis of their education and past earnings. While the Tier 1 General category closed for new applications in April 2011 and extensions in April 2015, there are still a number of individuals who hold a valid Tier 1 General visa on a pathway to ILR. The deadline for these individuals to apply for ILR is 5 April 2018, which is now less than two months away.

As an urgent action we recommend that you alert any employees you know to hold a Tier 1 General visa that they need to take immediate steps to apply for ILR before the deadline. If you have any affected employees who will not qualify for ILR, for example because their absences from the UK exceed the limit, then it may be possible to switch status to another type of visa, for example a Tier 2 General.

Renewal of annual allocation of Certificates of Sponsorship for Tier 2 Intra-Company Transfer and Tier 2 General Unrestricted

While many Tier 2 sponsors now have their annual allocation of Certificates of Sponsorship for Tier 2 Intra-Company Transfer and Tier 2 General Unrestricted renewed automatically, many still need to apply manually through the Sponsor Management System.

If you have been notified by UK Visas & Immigration that you need to renew your annual allocation, and you have not already submitted your application, time is running out. You should ideally allow at least six weeks for your application to be assessed and decided, before the expiry date of your current allocation on 5 April 2018. Applications submitted after this date may not be decided before your current allocation expires, meaning that there may be a period where you are not able to provide sponsorship to current or new employees.

Immigration Health Surcharge to double in cost

The Immigration Health Surcharge (IHS) paid by visa applicants and their family members will double from £200 per person per year to £400 per person per year. No timeline has yet been announced with the government press release simply stating that the changes would take place later this year.

With the UK already being one of the most expensive, if not the most expensive, location to apply for a visa this news will not be welcomed by many employers. When the IHS is combined with the Immigration Skills Charge (£1,000 per year), visa application fees and priority service fees for expedited processing, a three-year visa for a single applicant will cost in excess of £5,000 in government fees alone.

Brexit latest

We have finally started to hear details of what EU nationals, their family members and employers will need to do in the lead to Brexit. On 8 December 2017 a joint report from the negotiators of the European Union and the UK government was published, and covered the matter of citizens' rights in detail. Read our full review and analysis of the report here.

As we move into the second phase of negotiations between the EU and UK we can again expect citizens' rights to feature heavily in discussions.

Brexit has created a unique challenge for employers in the UK. If you would like to have a discussion about how we can assist, and what actions you should be taking now in order to be prepared, please get in touch.

Recommended reading

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Dates for your diary

22 February

Six weeks until expiry of current annual allocation of Tier 2 Intra-Company Transfer and Tier 2 General Unrestricted Certificates of Sponsorship. Apply for renewal of your allocation before this date to ensure that there is sufficient time for your application to be assessed and granted.

5 March

Deadline for submitting applications for the March quota of Tier 2 General, Restricted Certificates of Sponsorship (RCoS).

8 March

Last day that an advert for the Resident Labour Market Test can be posted to meet the deadline for submission of applications for the April quota of RCoS.

12 March

UK Visas & Immigration notification of which applications for an RCoS under the March quota were successful.

5 April

Expiry of current allocation of Tier 2 Intra-Company Transfer and Tier 2 General Unrestricted Certificates of Sponsorship. Deadline to apply to renew your annual allocation for the following year, however by submitting an application to renew so close to the deadline you will not have an allocation to use while your application is assessed and decided (which could be weeks or months).

6 April

Annual increase in UKVI application fees. The increase is yet to be announced, however in line with previous years we can expect incremental increases across all categories. To avoid the increase, issue Certificates of Sponsorship and apply for visas on 5 April or earlier.

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